


Children in Need

by Lady_Sci_Fi



Series: Adventures in Egypt [8]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (1963)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-27
Updated: 2019-01-27
Packaged: 2019-10-17 10:38:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17558822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Sci_Fi/pseuds/Lady_Sci_Fi
Summary: The Doctor and Sarah meet two distressed children in the night.





	Children in Need

 The Doctor breathed softly over the sleeping Sarah’s hair, and carefully moved to get up without waking her. He leaned back in to risk a tiny kiss to her temple, and saw the unconscious smile flicker across her features in the light of the fire and the moon.

 He made certain the blanket covered her naked body, and laid her travel cloak over her for good measure. She shifted, a hand peeking out of the blanket to grab the edge of her cloak and draw it closer to her.

 The Timelord waited a moment to see if she would move again, and only when she didn’t, did he grab his underwear and trousers from nearby and pull them on. He glanced over to their horse, also asleep, before crawling to the campfire.

 He grabbed a long stick and absentmindedly poked at the fire. He looked out past it to the rest of the oasis. All quiet and peaceful, like his serene sleeping Sarah. He turned to watch her, the firelight gently dancing across her face and exposed hand.

 He was content to simply sit there for a while, watching Sarah and listening to the pleasant soft sounds of the night.

 Then a loud rustling in the low foliage interrupted his mellow mood, and his head snapped towards the direction it had come from. Whatever it was was outside the light provided by the fire. The Doctor listened for a few seconds more, and determined it sounded clumsy. Not like an animal used to moving through brush and trees and water.

 The Timelord didn’t grab for his dagger, not yet. Instead, he said in a voice hopefully loud enough to be heard but still quiet enough to not wake Sarah, “I can hear you. If you mean us no harm, you may approach. If you do mean us harm, be warned that we are not unarmed.” The horse wakened and snorted softly. Sarah continued to sleep.

 At the lack of immediate response, the Doctor thought that perhaps it was an injured animal. But then he heard whispering of two voices, and stayed quiet. His hand did inch towards his dagger in case he needed it. Then the rustling happened again before the intruders finally entered the radius of orange light.

 Two disheveled Egyptian children stared at him, their expressions ones of caution. The Doctor pulled his hand back from his weapon, and grinned at the pair. “Hello there.”

 “H-hello, neb,” the girl nervously replied. She looked to be about ten years old, and the younger boy, perhaps seven, just as anxiously stepped behind her.

 “Oh, you have nothing to fear from me.” The Doctor beckoned them closer with a gesture.

 “We… we simply wish to share in the light of your fire,” the girl said.

 “You are welcome to it,” the Doctor invited.

 The pair stepped forward, manner still cautious. They froze when they noticed Sarah behind him. The Doctor glanced back to see what startled them, and assured, “Sarah, my wife. She’s just as friendly as I am, when she’s awake. While she’s asleep, too. I would appreciate we not be too loud.”

 The boy looked up to the girl, and she nodded to him. They continued until they were sat by the fire, close enough to the Doctor to hold a quiet conversation but far enough away from him to react if he tried anything.

 “I’m the Doctor,” the Timelord introduced. He pointed to the alert horse. “That’s Mawab.”

 The girl pointed to herself. “Tahibat, and my brother Meketat.”

 “Pleased to meet you.” The Doctor smiled warmly. He reached over to grab his bag and pulled out some food to share. He gave the children a moment to chew on the bread and dried meat before he prompted, “May I ask what two children are doing out here at night alone?”

 Meketat sniffled and squeaked, “We’re lost.”

 “Lost?”

 “Yes, we’ve been wandering since… We were playing with the others in our village. We hid in a merchant cart, and… we fell asleep,” Tahibat explained.

 The Doctor nodded, encouraging her to continue.

 “And when we woke up, the cart was far from the village. We panicked and got out. The merchant didn’t hear us and continued on his way. We don’t know where he was going or how far we were from home. It’s been over a day.” She swallowed heavily. “Nothing looks familiar. And we don’t have anything on us.” She cleared her throat. “We saw your fire, and hoped we could share that for the night.”

 “Of course you may. What’s mine is yours. And then in the morning, we can figure out what to do. How does that sound?”

 Sarah stirred, and became vaguely aware of a voice. Low and warm and familiar, and she drowsily wondered what the Doctor was talking about to himself. But then another voice registered, and she quickly pushed herself up in alarm. She managed to remember her state of undress and held the blanket up to her chest tightly as she rose and sat up. The cloak fell and pooled around her. She tried to ignore the cool air on her bare back.

 “Doctor?” she called out, blinking rapidly at the firelight. She made out three figures as the Timelord turned to her.

 “Hello, Sarah,” the Doctor cheerfully greeted. “Sorry to wake you.”

 Sarah’s vision cleared, and she made out two children sitting by the fire. “I don’t mind that, but… we have company?” She blushed at the fact that the blanket was all protecting her modesty.

 The Doctor, seemingly oblivious to Sarah’s predicament, introduced, “This is Tahibat and Meketat.”

 Sarah nodded to the pair before refocusing on the Doctor. “You could’ve warned a girl, you know.”

 “I would’ve, if they were hostile.”

 Sarah sighed and shook her head, muttering that that was beside the point. “Sorry,” she said to the children. “You haven’t caught me at my best.”

 The girl giggled into her hand as she glanced between the not-completely-dressed couple, while the boy raised his eyebrows in question.

 “I thought I had,” the Doctor remarked.

 “Oh, you.” Sarah grabbed his tunic from the ground and tossed it at him. “Right, do you mind if I get dressed?” She huffed at the Doctor as he shrugged in answer and pulled on his tunic. She wrapped the blanket around her more securely and picked up her clothes from nearby. Then she stood to go get dressed out of view behind a palm tree.

 The Doctor gave it a moment before he excused himself to go to her. Sarah heard him before she could be startled, and turned to him, having pulled on her short dress. Her trousers could wait a moment.

 “I hope we didn’t startle you too badly?” the Doctor inquired.

 “Honestly, Doctor…” Sarah sighed. “Just a bit unexpected, is all. Especially after we had just…” She tilted her head. “At least you had your trousers on, right?”

 The Doctor nodded, and watched as she put her own pair on. Now both fully dressed, they rejoined the children by the fire. They handed the pair their blankets, and invited them to sleep.

 “Our fortune to find two friendly Greeks in an oasis,” Tahibat remarked as she made sure her brother was settled down first.

 “Sleep easy, and perhaps the light of the morning will help when you wake,” the Doctor responded.

 The Doctor sat, and Sarah settled back against him. Both had their cloaks over themselves. Sarah waited until both children’s eyes were closed before she asked, “So, what’s their story?”

 “They mistakenly became lost from their village a day ago. Apparently too far to find their way home.”

 “Poor things. They really were lucky to have found us.” She turned in the man’s lap to look up at him. “Think we can help them get home?”

 “That’s the idea.” The Doctor kissed Sarah’s forehead and wrapped his arm around her to hold her close.

 Sarah watched the siblings for a few minutes more before she fell back into sleep.

 ********

 The Doctor cleaned up the campsite after breakfast, and asked, “Are there any distinctive landmarks near your village?”

 “The Sky Reacher,” Meketat quickly supplied.

 Tahibat clarified, “A large rock formation that looks like a person reaching up to the sky with one arm.”

 “That’s a good start,” Sarah nodded.

 “We were going the right way last night, I think,” the girl continued. Her confidence faltered. “Although we could’ve gotten turned around. I don’t know.”

 “We’ll figure it out. Don’t you worry,” the Timelord assured.

 “Which way were you trying to go last night?” Sarah asked.

 “Northeast. More east than north,” Tahibat answered.

 “Then that’s the way we’ll go,” the Doctor stated. He helped the siblings onto the horse and saddled the travel bags behind them.

 “We’re not being any trouble?” Meketat asked nervously.

 “No. Should this be trouble?” the Doctor replied. He took Mawab’s reins and began to lead him from the oasis.

 Sarah walked beside the Doctor, and added, “We’re not in any hurry to be anywhere in particular.”

 “Where are you headed? Unless you wander aimlessly in the desert?” Tahibat teased.

 “Alexandria,” Sarah answered. They passed over the oasis’ threshold and onto sand.

 “Out of your way to help us, then.”

 “As Sarah said, we’re not in any hurry,” the Doctor responded lightly. “Alexandria will still be there when we arrive, and for a long time after.”

 Sarah lightly elbowed him in the ribs and smirked.

 “How are you so tall?” Meketat blurted out after a minute. “We haven’t seen many Greeks. Are many of you so tall?”

 Sarah chuckled, and the Doctor shrugged. “I’m sure there are Egyptians you would consider tall,” the Timelord answered dismissively.

 “Yes, but none as tall as you both,” the boy countered.

 “I wouldn’t necessarily base your opinions of Greeks on us,” Sarah responded warmly.

 Meketat seemed disappointed in the answer, and pouted.

 “Are you saying you aren’t Greek?” Tahibat wondered.

 The Doctor simply tapped the side of his nose with a grin. Sarah shook her head in affection at him. “Don’t mind him,” she said to the siblings.

 To pass the time, the Doctor told stories to the pair, with Sarah chiming in on occasion. For the most part, she warmly smiled at the Timelord, noticing how good he was with them.

 Several hours after they had left the oasis, they stopped to take a break and have lunch. Meketat gravitated towards the Timelord, now feeling comfortable enough with the man to do so.

 “My brother is very shy with new people,” Tahibat quietly confided to Sarah as they ate. “He’s opened up to your husband faster than other strangers.”

 “He often has that effect on people,” Sarah nodded.

 “You two are… you’re easy to trust.”

 “He’ll be happy to hear that.”

 Tahibat lowered her voice to a whisper. “We were scared to approach you last night. But when the Doctor called out to us…” She shrugged, at a loss for a specific word.

 “I think you’re both to be commended,” the Doctor said loud enough to Meketat for the other two to hear him. “You were brave to fend for yourselves for as long as you did before finding us.”

 The siblings smiled widely at the man’s words. Then Meketat said, “If any of your stories are true, we’re not as brave as you and Sarah.”

 The Doctor chuckled. “We’ve had more time to practice.”

 They continued travelling again a few minutes later. Sarah sat behind Tahibat on the horse, and Meketat was now perched on the Doctor’s shoulders. The Doctor continued to entertain them with his tales.

 A couple hours on, Tahibat sat up higher in Mawab’s saddle and turned south. “The Sky Reacher!” she pointed excitedly.

 Meketat whooped and pumped his hand in the air, setting him off-balance on the man’s shoulders. The Doctor tightened his grip on the boy’s calves to prevent him falling off.

 Sarah and the Doctor could see the rock formation in the distance, and grinned to each other as they changed direction.

 That excitement soon turned to anxiety at the nearby growling. A leopard stalked out from behind a boulder. Mawab neighed in alarm and lifted his front legs. Sarah reached around the girl to soothingly pat his neck and calm him enough to not throw them off.

 “Don’t panic,” the Doctor said. “Sarah?”

 Sarah slid down from the horse, and the Doctor placed Meketat onto Mawab behind his sister.

 “What are you doing?” Meketat asked in fright. He was hushed by his sister, though her hands tightened into fists around the reins.

 “We’ll be alright. We’ve done this before,” Sarah assured, though her words were more confident than how she actually felt.

 “Keep eye contact,” the Doctor told her as they unsheathed their daggers and stepped between the leopard and their charges.

 “Right,” Sarah breathed, and set her jaw. She kept her eyes on the animal.

 The Doctor’s voice sounded conversational as he spoke to the leopard. “We’re not worth any effort on your part. We’re simply passing through.”

 The leopard took several steps forward, and after a very long and tense moment where Sarah wasn’t sure what the animal was going to do next, hissed at them before turning and bounding away.

 The Doctor blew out a breath, then grinned to Sarah.

 “Will it leave us alone?” Tahibat called out.

 The couple turned, and smiled at the children on top of the still-nervous horse. The Doctor took Mawab by the head and leaned in close to quietly praise and calm him.

 “I reckon we’ll be alright,” Sarah answered. “Not much longer, yeah?”

 “Not more than a couple more hours,” the Doctor answered, moving back from Mawab and patting his head. “Come on, our brave steed.”

 Sarah took the Timelord’s hand as they walked towards the village.

 ********

 True to the Doctor estimate, within two hours as the sun began to set, the village itself came into view. When they got near enough for the people to see them clearly and call out at the sight of the missing children, the Doctor had to catch Tahibat as she tried to slide down off the horse in her excitement. He had barely put her down when her brother followed suit and also had to be caught before he could faceplant onto the ground. Sarah chuckled to herself and pulled on Mawab’s reins to get him to stop walking. The Doctor put his arm around Sarah as they watched.

 A man and woman rushed out of a house at the commotion, and the siblings met them halfway with tight hugs. Then after a minute, they pointed towards the couple and horse at the village edge and pulled their parents towards them.

 The Doctor and Sarah already had a small crowd near them, but no one moved to investigate them closer further than asking what they were doing and why they had the two missing children.

 “They helped us find our way back!” Meketat explained loudly, breaking through the crowd with his mother.

 “We found them in an oasis, and they were very kind,” Tahibat added.

 “Please, please,” the Doctor raised his hands. “It was no trouble.”

 “No trouble?” the father echoed. “Few Greeks pass this way. For you to bring our little ones back-“

 “Is only doing our duty as fellow people.”

 “You do not seek any glory or reward?” the mother asked.

 “Not really our style,” Sarah answered.

 “You should still be shown appreciation. Please, have dinner with us?” the father invited.

 “Well, Doctor?” Sarah prompted.

 “I suppose we can’t say no to that,” the Doctor beamed.

 Meketat tugged on the Timelord’s tunic. “Papo makes the best roast boar.”

 “Oh, then I’m definitely glad we’re staying,” the Doctor chuckled. He grabbed their travel bags and handed Mawab’s reins to a man to take to the stables.

 The crowd followed them to the home, wanting to know the details of what had happened. The Doctor had to duck his head to step through the doorway, and straightened up once inside the modest house.

 The mother took the Doctor’s and Sarah’s hands. “Thank you, for bringing our children back. The gods listened to our prayers.”

 Tahibat started to tell everyone about their unexpected adventure, and the Doctor and Sarah settled into the celebratory atmosphere and later the good food and drink.

 

 The couple left early the next morning, leaving several waving people behind them, two children in particular at the front. Sarah nudged the Doctor’s cheek with her nose as he bent over her to kiss her temple. Then they settled more comfortably on the saddle and began to head towards Alexandria.


End file.
